Bonnethead identified as the first known omnivorous shark species

The bonnetheads, one of the smallest members of the hammerhead shark family, abound in the shallow waters of the Americas, where they typically feed on crabs, shrimps, snails and bony fish. Although small compared to sharks, adult females – the largest of the sexes – can still reach an impressive length of five feet.

"Until now, more people thought that herbarium consumption was incidental when these the Sharks were looking for crabs, etc. who live in the herbarium The beds, "said Samantha Leigh, co-author of the study and researcher in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of California-Irvine.

The stomachs of the bonnetheads are actually identical to the stomachs of the other shark species' stomachs in that they are specialized in meat-based diets, so the researchers had to determine whether the heads herbarium they consumed.

They planted herbarium collected in Florida Bay in the reservoirs and gave the plants an easily identifiable chemical signature by adding sodium bicarbonate powder made with a specific carbon isotope to the water.

So she put captive sharks on a mostly vegetarian diet of herbarium and squid for three weeks.

However, they found that herbarium can form up to 62 percent of the bonnethead's diet, next to their favorite meal of shellfish and molluscs. Surprisingly, the experience saw the carnivore initially thought the Sharks gained weight from the herbarium-rich diet. In 2007, scientists discovered the the Sharks also to feast herbarium. The researchers say that the the Sharks may have special enzymes in their gastric acid that allows them to break down cellulose in plants.

"Remarkably, the digestibility of organic matter by bonnethead is comparable to that of juvenile green sea turtles," they write.

The study, entitled "Seagrass digestion by a notorious carnivore, "was published in August in the journal, Acts of the Royal Society B.

In reality, herbarium the meadows are the more Coastal ecosystems spread on Earth, harboring thousands of fish and invertebrates, while filtering water and absorbing excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Scientists have known for a long time that bonnethead sharks have nibbled herbariumthey were just not quite sure that their digestive system was absorbed, absorbed as a side effect of grazing for other fish.

This type of information is beneficial for scientists who understand the ecosystem. But not at all the Sharks are so thirsty for blood, and a new study reveals that at least one species eats a lot of leafy vegetables.

"Because headboards have a digestive system that resembles that of the closely related species we know to be strict carnivores, we need to rethink what it means to have a" carnivorous gut, "Leigh told Fox.